Balikbayan uses augmented reality (AR) technology to explore Filipino-Australian culture and tradition surrounding balikbayan boxes.

Balikbayan means “return to country” in Tagalog. For Filipino-Australians, the Balikbayan box allows family members abroad to maintain connections with their family. Large cardboard boxes are lovingly purchased, planned, packed and shipped to relatives in the Philippines.

Over 10 million Filipinos live outside of the Philippines and according to the 2021 Census, Filipino-Australians are the fifth largest group of overseas born people in the Australian population. Over 40,000 Balikbayan boxes are sent each year from Western Australia alone. This practice is predominantly led by the women in these families and becomes an important physical manifestation and expression of motherhood and familial ties within Filipino culture.

Through augmented reality this project attempts to reveal the hidden meaning behind these objects. Stories of hope, aspiration, belonging, gratitude, generosity, and familial ties are revealed. All contained within a humble cardboard box.